Browne proud of players' resolve as Leinster final awaits
Westmeath ladies manager Frank Browne was full of praise for his players after they edged out Wexford by a single point in a pulsating Leinster Intermediate Championship semi-final last Sunday.
The Lake County held on for a 0-16 to 2-9 victory to book their place in the provincial decider where they will face Laois at TEG Cusack Park on Sunday, May 18.
“It’s all about the win,” said a relieved Browne, who praised his side’s resilience after a contest that swung wildly in the second half at Moynihan Park, Ballynacargy.
The Lake County had been targeting this victory since the start of the season and it is sweet revenge for their defeat to the same opposition in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final, which was decided after extra-time in Enniscorthy. That defeat clearly stung and Westmeath were fully determined to make amends.
“We always said: stay in Division Two, have a rattle, win the Leinster final – and then we’ll see where the rest of the journey takes us,” said Browne.
There was late drama as a Wexford struck for a goal at the death, but Westmeath were resilient enough to fend off the Slaneysiders and seal their place in the final against Laois.
“We were 6-4 at half-time after playing against the breeze and we thought we were in a great position. We conceded a sucker-punch goal but we were resilient. I think really what helped us was our fitness levels.”
In a game that swung dramatically in the second half, Westmeath’s physical conditioning and composure down the stretch proved crucial.
“We talked about our fitness coming into the game. With ten minutes to go, we we were a point down and suddenly we just kicked on, we found the space. Wexford had to come out and come at us a little bit and that left gaps then for our power runners, like Lucy McCartan, Anna Jones – our distribution of the ball into the space was absolutely exemplary.”
But it wasn’t without drama and Browne admitted that Wexford's late goal "kind of put our hearts in our mouths".
The contributions of Westmeath’s attacking defenders also drew admiration from the manager. “Just amazing,” Browne said of the performance of the half-back line. “That’s coming from deep, it's very hard to defend against that. Particularly when you're leaving space behind for our players to run into," said Browne, who was also pleased with his side's efficiency when it came to scoring chances.
Reflecting on the team’s journey since their last championship outing - that All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to his native Wexford - Browne made a striking point.
“We've been 308 days waiting for this. That’s 4,620 hours I can tell you exactly. When we were beaten in that All-Ireland quarter-final, we were badly hurt. We had a tough league campaign. and maybe people started to doubt our character. But whatever else you doubt about these people, never doubt their character, never doubt their resilience and never doubt how much they want to wear a Westmeath jersey – and it came out today.”
Among the standout performers was Anna Jones, who nailed five frees into the wind in the first half. Her excellence was no accident, Browne said. “What people didn’t realise, when I arrived at the pitch this morning at half-past eleven, Anna was here kicking frees. That’s why she was five out of five into the breeze in the first half. That doesn’t happen by accident. That’s just sheer hard work, practice and working at it - and that’s why she’s so good.
“She’s the engine of the team and she’s the heart of the team, and other people stepped up to it as well. It’s just brilliant and we've got a chance to put a bit of silverware on the table now.”
Laois had 15 points to spare over Wicklow in the other semi-final and will be full of confidence after racking up a big score of 3-11. Mo Nerney top-scored for Laois with six points, while the three goals came from Jane Moore, Emma Lawlor and Shifra Havill.